Getting a cscs card

[Saleen836]

austina35 said:

ive a current CSCS card (blue skilled) and renewed it last month.

Your right in what you say, it's more difficult than it used to be. Ive worked with NVQ (not very qualified) tradesman and those who only had green labourers cards. NVQ qualifications don't really prove you know more about what you know more than the next person.

its experience that counts not a piece of paper. Sites are full of clueless muppets with an NVQ. I have in the past put right what they fked up. I'm getting too old for all this RAMS bks now anyway so limit my time on sites.

I had to get the NVQ2 to enable me to have a blue CSCS card,biggest con going as when I phoned was told it would cost me £3k!, no thanks as I will be long retired and dead before I recoup the money if I keep renewing my basic CSCS card,I was then told if I didn't have any other qualifications the government would pay for it, I now have a blue CSCS card. A lady arrived on site and spent an hour taking photos of me doing different aspects of my job,put copies in a folder,charged the government £3k and I have my skilled labour card

[austina35]

i can believe it. I did an apprenticeship for 4 years.

[soad]

soad said:

I still have my old one (features a photo and visible smart chip) stashed somewhere, probably inside the wallet...wonder when it has expired.

Dug it out - was valid until November 2016. A green Construction Site Operative one (discontinued now).
Dead easy to get one too, multiple choice questions on a computer...similar to a car theory test.

[megaphone]

soad said:

soad said:

I still have my old one (features a photo and visible smart chip) stashed somewhere, probably inside the wallet...wonder when it has expired.

Dug it out - was valid until November 2016. A green Construction Site Operative one (discontinued now).
Dead easy to get one too, multiple choice questions on a computer...similar to a car theory test.

It was easy to get, that's why the discontinued it. Not so easy now as you need to have qualifications even for the basic green one before you get to the multiple choice test.

[Darkslider]

megaphone said:

soad said:

soad said:

I still have my old one (features a photo and visible smart chip) stashed somewhere, probably inside the wallet...wonder when it has expired.

Dug it out - was valid until November 2016. A green Construction Site Operative one (discontinued now).
Dead easy to get one too, multiple choice questions on a computer...similar to a car theory test.

It was easy to get, that's why the discontinued it. Not so easy now as you need to have qualifications even for the basic green one before you get to the multiple choice test.

Everyone's saying this but the CSCS site says:

'You can apply for this card if you have either:

Completed the RQF Level 1/SCQF Level 4 Award in Health and Safety in a Construction Environment
Completed the SCQF Level 5 REHIS Elementary Health and Safety Certificate.'

And says all applicants must have passed the CITB Health, safety and environment test.

But then goes to list acceptable alternative qualifications and top of the list is:

CITB Health and Safety awareness course.

Presumably this isn't the same thing as the test? I'm starting in a groundworks job next week, why is everyone telling me the green CSCS card is a doddle to get and only costs £50 or less? Is it because they used to hand them out in cereal boxes and now they're impossible to get without jumping through multiple hoops?

[megaphone]

Darkslider said:

megaphone said:

soad said:

soad said:

I still have my old one (features a photo and visible smart chip) stashed somewhere, probably inside the wallet...wonder when it has expired.

Dug it out - was valid until November 2016. A green Construction Site Operative one (discontinued now).
Dead easy to get one too, multiple choice questions on a computer...similar to a car theory test.

It was easy to get, that's why the discontinued it. Not so easy now as you need to have qualifications even for the basic green one before you get to the multiple choice test.

Everyone's saying this but the CSCS site says:

'You can apply for this card if you have either:

Completed the RQF Level 1/SCQF Level 4 Award in Health and Safety in a Construction Environment
Completed the SCQF Level 5 REHIS Elementary Health and Safety Certificate.'

And says all applicants must have passed the CITB Health, safety and environment test.

But then goes to list acceptable alternative qualifications and top of the list is:

CITB Health and Safety awareness course.

Presumably this isn't the same thing as the test? I'm starting in a groundworks job next week, why is everyone telling me the green CSCS card is a doddle to get and only costs £50 or less? Is it because they used to hand them out in cereal boxes and now they're impossible to get without jumping through multiple hoops?

The old green ' Construction Site Operative' card was a doddle to get. You signed up for the test, paid your fee and then went along and did the pretty simple multiple choice test. Paid for the card and that was it.

As you have quoted, the newer 'Labourer' green card requires some basic qualifications before you can do the test. Or you may need to do some other training and tests before you complete the CITB test.

As you have commented, if you don't have the qualifications then doing the online CITB safety course is probably the easiest way, think it was £100 when I last looked, then another £21 for the test, then another £36 for the card. Cha-ching £££££

Edited by megaphone on Wednesday 29th July 07:50

[Darkslider]

megaphone said:

The old green ' Construction Site Operative' card was a doddle to get. You signed up for the test, paid your fee and then went along and did the pretty simple multiple choice test. Paid for the card and that was it.

As you have quoted, the newer 'Labourer' green card requires some basic qualifications before you can do the test. Or you may need to do some other training and tests before you complete the CITB test.

As you have commented, if you don't have the qualifications then doing the online CITB safety course is probably the easiest way, think it was £100 when I last looked, then another £21 for the test, then another £36 for the card. Cha-ching £££££

Edited by megaphone on Wednesday 29th July 07:50

Just had a proper look through the terribly laid out process on the CITB sites and you're right.

If like me you have no construction related or acceptable health and safety qualifications to get the new green labourer card you need to sit the CITB Health and Safety awareness course, £99 on their website and can be done online in a day. Then book your CITB Health, Safety and environment test which is £21 at your local theory test centre or similar. Then you can apply for your CSCS card at a cost of £36. So £156 before you're even allowed to make tea or sweep up, and a multitude of hoops to jump through, including traveling up to 25 miles away to your nearest test centre. Plus the CITB course being the cheapest and easiest acceptable qualification expires after 5 years so presumably the whole thing needs re doing at that point. Nice little earner compared to the old system I bet.

I've already been offered a so I'll speak to my employer about help with the above, but I expect it'll be down to me to fund it

Edited by Darkslider on Wednesday 29th July 09:36

[Darkslider]

Darkslider said:

Just had a proper look through the terribly laid out process on the CITB sites and you're right.

If like me you have no construction related or acceptable health and safety qualifications to get the new green labourer card you need to sit the CITB Health and Safety awareness course, £99 on their website and can be done online in a day. Then book your CITB Health, Safety and environment test which is £21 at your local theory test centre or similar. Then you can apply for your CSCS card at a cost of £36. So £156 before you're even allowed to make tea or sweep up, and a multitude of hoops to jump through, including traveling up to 25 miles away to your nearest test centre. Plus the CITB course being the cheapest and easiest acceptable qualification expires after 5 years so presumably the whole thing needs re doing at that point. Nice little earner compared to the old system I bet.

I've already been offered a so I'll speak to my employer about help with the above, but I expect it'll be down to me to fund it

Edited by Darkslider on Wednesday 29th July 09:36

Just an update to this, I've found a few online colleges offering the Construction Health and Safety QCF level one (might not have remembered that right) e learning course for less than a hundred quid, and this one apparently doesn't expire like the CITB course so no re-doing it every five years. I've already booked my £21 CITB Health safety and environment test for the end of next month, I bought the test book and the majority of the questions could be answered with your brain removed so I'm not too worried about doing the test before the course, unless they won't let me sit the CITB test first?

Going to chat to my employer on Monday and see if I can get any help with the e-learning course, hopefully I can in which case I'll just get it done beforehand.